Rebounding half back Ryan Noll is the 2010 Madigan Medal favourite as the league’s best and fairest player, to be announced on Monday night at the West Augusta Football Club.
The Hawk vice-captain has hit a purple-patch in the last six rounds and has been listed in the top five players by his club in 12 of the 14 games he has played in.
If he were to win he would be West Augusta’s first, and fourth different winner overall since 1962, Madigan Medallist since 1996 when centreman Brenton Fazulla took out the prize.
His biggest threat will come from team-mate Jordan
Warren who is equally adept at centre-half-forward and centre-half back, can play in the square and through the middle.
An unlucky runner-up could well be Dean Steele, of the Lions.
This lightning-quick half-backer will need to have a swag of votes in the bag before the last two rounds as he is injured and did not play against Sollies and won’t play West in the final round. The general feeling is that the winner might not come from flag-favourites South as performances across the playing group over the season have been so even.
Having said that surely Ryan Struck is a big chance and “recruit of the year” former-Hawk Jason Lukich will poll well.
The 2008 medallist Mark Fuller is Central’s best chance after a very consistent year leading from the front. Don’t be surprised if the “bolter” young-blood Patrick Byron-Boles attracts the attention of the umpires and if Sollies and Ports won more games, Tyrone Price and Kieran Johanson would be in the mix at the end of the count too.
Last year Tom Clarke of the Port Bulldogs won the gong with 25 votes, 10 more than joint-runners-up Quigley and Burford who both polled 15 votes.
This year whoever walks away with the award will poll in the high teens or low 20s and win by only one or two votes such is the tightness of the competition.
The six league coaches have been polled and the results seem to agree that Noll, Steele and Jordan Warren are the top three chances.
Two-time SGL premiership coach Ray Hayes believes Mark Fuller will win from Jordan Warren and Steele.
Northern Cities mentor and Lions boss Adrian “Duck” Davies thinks that Jordan War-ren has the wood on Steele and Cat Tyrone Price.
First year Ports coach Matt Ganley fancies Steele from Noll and Price, Bob Boston cannot speak more highly of his first-choice Price and has been very impressed with Hawk Hayden Warren and South’s Struck.
It should be Noll’s medal if you listen to Anthony Anno of South and Craig Blinman of West with Anno of the opinion that Jordan Warren and Lukich will be in the hunt and Blinman a fan of Steele and Struck to wrestle for runner-up.
Interestingly, except for Hayden Warren none of the top five goal-kickers have been mentioned – Horsnell, Kern-ahan, Johnson and Morris and no other ruckman other than Fuller when South’s Laube has been extremely consistent and important to the minor premiers and Sollies’ Craig Tee and Brad Ley of Lions have also starred this season.
Be prepared to be surprised at who walks away as the best player in the SGL as judged by umpires.
History tells us that defenders don’t tend to win the Madigan Medal and in fact is more likely to go to a midfielder or ruckman.
If so, then the winner should come from South Augusta as they have the dominant centre-line.
The season has thrown up strange result after upset and has been a tipping nightmare.
Who would have thought for example that the two teams who played-off in the 2009 grand final would be winless until Centrals beat Port in Round 8 and then the Bulldogs from Pirie recorded their first and only win in Round 11.
Port has the wooden spoon and the Bloods look likely to miss the finals altogether.
Whatever the result the newest Madigan Medallist will thoroughly deserve the recognition and the count will surely come down to the last vote.
MADIGAN MEDAL...Lions Dean Steele could place runner-up for the Madigan Medal. The counting will take place in Port Augusta on Monday night.
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